


Seven, not Six

by Pippa_Frost



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of Violence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Blood Loss, Blood and Injury, Character Death, Child Abuse, Dave and Dolores are mentioned, Family, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I mean Reginald Hargreeves is their dad, I want his head on a fucking spike, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Torture, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Major Character Injury, Mental Health Issues, Past Abuse, Protective Allison Hargreeves, Protective Ben Hargreeves, Protective Diego Hargreeves, Protective Klaus Hargreeves, Protective Luther Hargreeves, Protective Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy), Protective Siblings, Protective Vanya Hargreeves, Psychological Torture, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, Self-Harm, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Suicide Attempt, Temporary Character Death, Torture, Violence, hate that tag never thought i'd use it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 01:36:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19415776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pippa_Frost/pseuds/Pippa_Frost
Summary: They go back in time, they get a second chance. A chance to start over, to get it right, to make everything better. There's so much to fix, so much to take care of, so much to carefully set into motion. This time around they know better, they literally know the future: they know what they have to do, they know what they have to avoid, they know what they have to start, they know what they have to stop. They're together now.And yet.And yet shit still happens. Sorrow still follows, hatred still blooms, and equations are still off.Five had known he had already failed one sibling the moment he was back in the past the first time around. He wasn't about to let the same happen this time. There were seven of them, when he left, and there would be seven of them when he died, which wouldn't be happening any time soon. No exceptions this time.Delores really must be laughing now.





	Seven, not Six

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! So, i’m new to the fandom and reaally needed to get this of my mind. I did so in the middle of studying so it was pretty rushed, and now i finally had the time to really work on it! I posted this in my tumblr, and seeing as it still hasn't left my mind so i'll probably continue it soon, i decided to post it here as well!  
> It was going to be a sort of list but it just kept growing longer and out of hand so i’m afraid it’ll be more than one chapter! Anyways, i hope you like it and tell me what you think!  
> I just loved this show so fucking much i can’t even. SECOND SEASON HERE WE COMEEEE!!!!!!!
> 
> Also, trigger warning: read the tags, it sounds really awful, and in a way it is, but i also put all those tags to be extra save, so you know, read with caution in case you decide to read this even knowing about the tags!

So, they go back in time. It’s all a messy, long and hard process. There are tears, yelling, accusations and apologies, goals and regrets. But they get through it, together. Finally.

They talk, for once, place all the cards on the table, information is their only weapon, Five stresses.

So they learn about everything that happened to each of them, they learn about Diego and mom and Patch; about Allison and her little girl and her sin; about Five and his math and the destruction he got shot for; about Vanya and her pills and her music; about Klaus and Ben, about the drugs, the ghosts, the War, _Them_ , the truth - by which point they get to Luther. They all have things to feel guilty about, things they regret, mistakes they wish they hadn’t made. But the truth, as Ben calls it, a dark look on his face, is worse than all that. Because the truth is that which Klaus almost gets to bury, but Ben won’t have it. So he tells them about the ghosts (cold, screams, misery, madness), the drugs (silence, peace, warmth, numb, numb, num-), the withdrawal (hot, pain, need, panic, want, want, want, need, need, nee-), and the death. Ben has punched Luther twice by the time Diego is ready to get a go at Number One.

But. They get through it. Kinda.

They hardly ever sleep alone, always one of them next to another. All seven of them more often than not. Because Five is paranoid and he's the (quote) only one who stands a chance if people come for them; they don’t mention that they know he’s counting heads at all times, it’s not like they’re not guilty of doing the same. Luther would stay with Allison, but she won’t let go of Vanya, who isn’t Luther’s biggest fan. But she’s not the only one. While Diego might eventually forgive, he never forgets, and he’s not about to engage in either of those after learning that not only had Number One trapped Vanya by tricking her with a hug, but that he had choked Klaus and then left him for dead a few hours later. Actually _dead_. It’s all he can do not to cut his throat every few minutes.

Five isn’t one to snuggle so he stays close but never touching. 

And even if this wasn’t the new arrangement, no one could separate Ben and Klaus if they tried. Klaus has no problem with Luther, and while Ben doesn’t share Diego’s aggressiveness, there’s something in the way he stares at him whenever he gets too close to Klaus.

And so they end up in Allison’s room, mattresses on the floor, bed sheets and blankets and pillows all around them, maybe not all close enough to touch, but together in one room all the same. 

Reginald had not been amused, but with Five’s lead and Allison’s voice, the midnight surveillance had been taken care of.

They soon realize that it’s not enough, however, because Pogo can tell something’s up. By then, any remorse any of them could have felt is long gone, after days of training that their brains had somehow been able to downplay in tragedy. Their memories hadn’t been this bad, training hadn’t been this bad. But then again, they didn’t have the perspective they do now, didn’t have anything to compare their activities to fully comprehend how horrible it was.

They had never blamed Pogo for anything. 

They do now.

Vanya doesn’t take her pills. They won’t go as far as to suddenly make Reginald stop being a bastard and get some sense all of the sudden, but they’re easy enough to hide and get rid of, much easier than making sure to train their sister into not showing her powers along with every emotion. But they make do, they can’t afford not to.

They keep training because they know they’ll need it, but not all of it follows Reginald’s plan. And little by little, they get time of their own. Both for training and just being together, this time with Vanya and with one another, the way they wish they had known was the normal sibling way. It’s little, maybe one or two hours a day, but it’s all they can afford, all they can risk.

They go on missions, they protect each other. Vanya starts learning first care with their mom, and is there every time they step back into the house after a mission.

Reginald doesn’t like it. He knows they’re stronger together and more than once he realizes what’s happening, just as Pogo does. Those are days they all panic, and find it hard to breathe afterwards. However, Mom is theirs. One of the first things they do is rumor Pogo into fixing Grace, they know the only one who could have brought her back last time was him, and they were right. So they make it so that she’s no longer trapped by Reginald’s goals in her creation, and that not Pogo nor Reginald can ever change it back.

They still suffer, it’s still all messed up. To call it abuse doesn’t begin to truly describe what they are forced to go through for a second time. But it’s not as hard to handle as a group. They still have to endure a lot of things. A lot of... experiments. But it’s better than last time, and they make sure to draw a line. 

Klaus is not forced into mausoleums again even if that doesn’t erase the times he was locked in before. Five is not forced to continue jumping after passing out more than once. Ben is not forced to bathe in animals’ blood (so much). Diego is not forced to aim at their mom or their siblings, or animals (so much). Allison is no longer made to play with people’s minds until her throat is raw and thoughts a mess. Luther is no longer forced to work until he can’t even scream anymore and his muscles feel like tearing apart. There’re no more days without food.

They are still forced to do a lot of things. And a lot of nights are spent with tears of fear, frustration and anger, nightmares and flashbacks. They’re adults, they already escaped this hell once, they don’t have to put up with this. But they are also children, and the fear and so many other emotions that come with it are almost unbearable. And yet there’s nothing they can do and this is the best they’re gonna get.

They can’t mess up with the timeline. 

They discuss about it a lot. How can they prevent the apocalypse and expect not to change the timeline too much?

Reginald is not too hard, the public never knew much about him, not really, so all they have to do is keep him from tormenting them too much. As long as the world knows he’s still there until the moment he takes his life.

It’s hard to get the point across to Diego and Ben, the latter being a surprise for them all. 

Ben dying is not an option. And even still, it was never something they went out of their way to tell the world.

They’ll stay together until the time most of them left to live alone, only this time, they’ll leave together. Luther did stay, however, so they know they will have to do some missions even after leaving, but they try not to think about that.

Of all this, they are certain. Anything else, they’ll figure it out along the way.

Only, if it were easy, everyone would do it. There’s a reason why things happen the way they do, and the existence of the Commission is not the main one.

Five doesn’t leave, and PTSD and touch are things they become experts in; Ben doesn’t die, they all help him with his fear of _Them_ , just as they help Klaus with the screams of death and war, being there before any drugs can get him. Vanya and Ben are the experts, both of them know and admit they are all messed up and know there are ways to work through it, Ben with his books, Vanya with her experience with therapy. And they work hard to get Allison and Luther to understand how _abuse_ was every bit of a scar on their minds as it was for the rest of them, especially to Luther. 

But knowing how the future plays out makes them all the more vulnerable to unexpected things, to unconsidered variables.

Later, tense with rage stronger than his hatred towards the Handler, Five is the first to admit they somehow managed to underestimate their bastard of a father, even having a whole timeline of experience over him.

They have plenty of close calls, plenty of scary moments, where they’d stay awake wondering if they saved one sibling just to lose another.

There’s Allison getting shot, Luther getting stabbed, and Five-

Well. Five doesn’t get to get hurt after Klaus acted as a shield.

Is in this last case that Reginald finally gets proof that powers are one more thing the children are hiding from him. He’s known for months, but can never truly grasp it, and he knows he must have only for it to be taken from him with a few childish words.

But he sees. He sees useless, weak Number Four. He sees his fists glow, might even see a few ghosts, but most importantly, he sees him die. And he sees him come back. 

The kids by now know that there’s something about Klaus and death, something mysterious and similar and even familiar, a _connection_ of sorts, one that scares them like little ever has, no matter how apparently okay Klaus is with the whole concept, how sure he is of its existence as an unconditional backup, as an absolute truth, how ready he is to take it for granted. They’re not about to put the veracity of this supposedly safety net to the test; and so they do all they can to avoid the matter all together.

That is their downfall.

Reginald has been taking notes all his life. The rumors don’t change that. In fact, they only make him more careful. So while he might not remember, he knows enough. And he knows that while the children might have a way to keep him off their backs, there’s a reason why they still keep up with most of the training, which means they are not as in control as they would like to be.

And everyone knows that to take control, you start with the weakest link, which so happens to be the subject of his interest. It’s perfect.

So when training time comes for Number Four, he takes him to an old, far away part of the mansion instead of the graves, without anyone knowing.

“Where are we?“ Klaus asks, a sick feeling settling in his stomach. He’s gotten better at dealing with ghosts, a few of them acting more like Ben used to do, silent companions, always there. Nothing compared to what Ben had been of course, but a hell of a lot better that the others. He was getting better at making them corporeal, especially with Ben’s input from his own experience, and he knows now that he can apparently move things with his mind, tho he hasn’t really been able to do it other than by accident.

“Did you know, Number Four” the man suddenly starts “that out of all of you, your powers are the least threatening? The weakest, truly“

Klaus did know that.

“Number One could crush my head with one single hand“ he says conversationally, his back to Klaus inside the big slightly dark room. Luther is still pretty much a Daddy’s boy, even if he can see now how wrong he’s been about everything, and it’s hard for him to accept the way they screw with Reginald’s mind, his hero complex unable to come to terms with all he’s known and believed in being turned upside down. So, no. Luther couldn’t do that.

“Number two” he continues “one flick of his hand and a knife would be deep between my eyes” he laughs. Klaus feels cold and scared, glancing every so often at the woman who he’s gotten used to seen in the corners. She doesn’t look back. Also, Klaus knows that’s exactly what Diego would love to do, but he isn’t sure if his brother would actually go through with it.

“Number three... Well, she could make me kill myself in lots of ways“

Allison would never do that. How could he even think that?!

“Number Five... he could kill me in my sleep and make it seem like an accident“

Well... yeah. That is true.

“And Number Six...“ he hums, turning around to look down on him and letting out a scoff “He’s a monster!“ and Klaus feels rage he hasn’t felt in a very long time, years of numbness and forced obliviousness as coping mechanisms leaving him unprepared for strong emotions for his already pretty mellow personality, and he has to fight everything he has not to let his fists turn blue. The fucker can’t know about his powers.

“He could kill us all in one night“ he says, pulling out his pocket watch and then giving Klaus a look that makes his limbs go rigid “So, you see, Number Four, it would be simple madness for me not to be prepared for such potential situations. You are all supposed to save the world, yes, and just as it’s my duty to prepare you for that, it is also my duty to do everything in my power so that you can’t do the exact opposite“

Klaus gulps, cold settling in the room. He doesn’t know where the asshole is getting with this, but it doesn’t sound good. It almost sounds like he knew about Vanya and the apocalypse and her powers, but that couldn’t be. It just _couldn’t_. Besides, it was exactly his fear of Vanya’s power what actually led to the end of the world

“I know you all have been playing with me” and Klaus stops breathing, his heartbeats loud inside his head, he dares a look to the side, were the closed (locked, the key on the man’s pocket) door blocks him from escape “And I have let it go because you have gotten better at both missions and training. However” he turns around again, opening the suitcase he had placed on the table behind him and starting to pull things out of it “My patience runs short, and your abilities run predictable. So imagine my surprise“ he sits on the chair behind the table, as if ready to give a lecture to a one-child class “when i saw you actually _have_ been improving your abilities!“

Klaus feels his knees go weak, the woman is watching him curiously now, and he knows, he _knows_ , so maybe it wouldn’t matter if he made her corporaal now? And begged her to help him? To go get Ben somehow, or Five, anyone!

How did he screw this up? How did he let Reginald _see_? How did he screw everything up _again_?! And he can only think of Five, of Diego, of Ben, where are they? _Help!_ His mind screaming for him to run r _un run run!_

“How did you do it, Number Four?” the man ignores his reaction “How did you die?”

And every sound banging inside his skull makes a sudden stop. He must have heard wrong. There’s no way he’s talking abo-

“How did you come back?” the man’s voice sentences like a jury of hell.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about“ he manages, just as his panic makes his fists glow and more dead people appear around him, still invisible to the man in front of him somehow. Reginald lifts and eyebrow.

“I saw you. I know what a fatal blow is. I saw the tapes as well. Number Five lowering your body down, the whole lot of you screaming like toddlers. I know you died. And I know your brothers know that too. I also know that they must have known about this beforehand, no? It’d make sense of the way they’ve all been behaving during missions. There’s a reason why you all tried to cover it up, which is all I need as proof of the veracity of the fact“

“I- I didn’t die! You’re crazy!“

“Oh, but you did, Number Four. And then you came back“

“That’s im-“

“It _is_ impossible“ he nods, before lifting his shin “For your siblings at least“

And Klaus freezes. There are at least ten ghosts around the room now, all looking at the man before him, and yet, right now, not one of them scares him more than said man. There’s a whisper of a ringing noise between his ears, and maybe he’s imagining it just as he’s imagining his hot breath against the now cold, cold room. His hands are covered in blue fire, but it doesn’t burn at all, unlike the burning caused by the knot inside his throat. The ghost aren’t corporeal yet, and while he’s been trying his best not to show them so far, he’s now stuck, because letting Reginald see them seems like a better choice than keep this conversation going, especially with the look his father is giving him, a gaze colder than those of the dead, scarier than the sights of gore that always follow his step.

He glances at the door again before he can stop himself, his whole body trembling in terror.

“Ah, don’t waste your time, Number Four” the man scoffs, fumbling with the briefcase still “You won’t leave”

“Why is that” he asks after gulping, trying desperately to keep the fear out of his voice. He’s not a kid anymore, he’s an adult, he’s been tortured, he’s been a soldier, this isn’t as scary as he thinks it is. It _can’t_ be.

“Hmm, so I see your newly developed powers didn’t come with higher thinking capabilities” he stands up, now a knife between his fingers, unimpressed expression firmly in place “I told you, I have ways to get rid of every single one of you, of keeping you in your place, of making sure you never get to play this silly game again. Maybe they won’t work on you, at least not until we make some tests, but they will definitely work on your siblings. Up until now I hadn’t had a reason to use them, but with all your little games recently, well. You’re getting dangerous, and I’m running out of patience. However, balance can always be achieved”

“You wouldn’t” he manages brokenly “You need us” and Five had said so himself, so it _couldn’t_ not be true. The bastard is now a few steps before him, and laughs.

“Number Four. There’re dozens of you out there. I managed to get you seven once. I can get a few others again. And yes, you could try to stop me with your silly little game, but believe me when I say, there would only be six of you by the time you managed to do so” the man finishes, his tone unbothered, as if shrugging through his words.

And that’s it. The man moves around and Klaus is distantly aware of being pushed backwards to sit on a chair, his Father somewhere above him. Everything else is silent. Klaus, ironically, feels a kind of numbness surrounding him, so different from the kinds he’s used to, and yet so similar. There’s no longer ringing on his ears, panic’s whispers; instead, there’s silence, but not empty silence. The air feels heavy around him as if surrounded by an invisible fog, cotton around and inside his head, blocking thoughts and emotions alike.

Because it’s true, isn’t it? There’s absolutely nothing he can do. No option for him to choose, no actions for him to take. There’s nothing he can do to stop their dad. Who would stop him? Who _could_ stop him? Who knows what things he has to get rid of them? It was easy enough for him to do as such to Vanya, what else couldn’t he do? His siblings, they’re all human, they’re all vulnerable. They can all be killed. They can all die. They already had in one timeline. Hell, they all had in several timelines.

There was absolutely nothing he could do. He could try to escape, but would he dare? Would he be able to run fast enough towards his siblings before any of them being killed somehow? They weren’t even close to their usual part of the mansion. He wouldn’t make it. He couldn’t make it. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t do anything.

He’s frozen, barely there, hopelessness numbing everything, a void inside his chest, something broken, something inside his chest he had almost managed to forget, taking everything away. He’s trapped. They were supposed to be better this time around. And now because of him he might lose everything again. He can’t. He can’t leave. He can’t let him do that, not to any of them. They are all he has left. They are everythi-

He flinches and reality rushes to him.

Reginald has just made a cut on his wrist. His vision is blurry from silent tears he hadn’t felt falling, blood feels warm against his skin as it runs through his hand. His Father takes a few steps back to lean on the table, now full of equipment he hadn’t seen before.

He’s trapped again. He actually doesn’t feel the need for drugs right now, and what a funny thing that is. Somewhere in his mind, a little Klaus actually acknowledges that fact, but it’s almost drowned by the numbness stuffing everything like cotton, his mind, his eyes, his ears.

He’s trapped again, and for the first time that isn’t the problem. All the times before, it was all about how long he’d be locked for, how long he’d be forced to endure the screams and the agony and the hatred and the desperation of lives cut short. Getting out eventually had never been the issue.

Now? Now there’re ghosts looking at the scene with blank faces yet curious eyes, but he can’t hear them; there are broken souls around him, yet they don’t go near him; there’s a Monster just like before, yet now he isn’t the one throwing him to the wolves, instead the Monster is now the sole torturer.

He’s trapped again, and now he knows there’s no getting out at all. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you liked it! Please tell me what you think! <3


End file.
